Yunominesou — Hotel in Tanabe

I stayed at Yunomineso for one night while hiking on the Kumano Kodo after completing the 25KM walk from Chikatsuyu to Hongu Taisha. My feet were aching and I couldn't have asked for a better place to recover and be completely pampered. The staff at this hotel were incredibly sweet and attentive, and always had huge smiles on their faces. They spoke English fairly well and were happy to help you with whatever you needed. The natural hot spring onsen were heavenly. The ryokan has two public onsen (that are gender-segregated), with each one having an outdoor area and an indoor area. From the outdoor bath, you can see the rolling hills and lush forest while the sun sets. I went right before dinner and also fairly late at night (around 11) and was fortunate enough to have the baths to myself both times. After a certain hour, they switch the men and women's bath so that you get a chance to see both of them. I ventured into the private bath for a minute (there are two of them) however I actually much preferred the public bath since the private ones were very small and offered no views other than the wooden walls surrounding it. The changing areas were spacious with tatami floors and offered lockers and standard toiletries. The highlight of my stay was the dinner. I was seated at my table for one and was given a sheet with clip-art style pictures of everything I was going to eat that evening and in which order I was supposed to eat it in. The attention to detail was incredible (I had to take a picture because I found the clipart so accurate, down to the garnish). The meal was rich, traditional, and had a variety of dishes including onsen plum wine, sashimi, soup, shabu shabu, chrysanthemum and tofu salad, soufflé. seaweed salad, grilled ayu river fish (from the Kumano river), miso soup, Japanese pickles, rice, and yuzu sorbet. Once again, the service was exceptional. My room was a traditional Japanese room with tatami floors and a futon bed (which they were kind enough to lay out for me during dinner). I had a magnificent view of an adjacent village and the mountains/forest beyond it. The room was spacious and clean, and had a separate area for the entrance way and toilet as well as a little kitchen table near the window. The WiFi worked perfectly, despite what other reviewers had mentioned. In the morning after breakfast (another feast with plenty of different dishes), the staff at the hotel were kind enough to drive me into Yunomine Onsen to catch the bus for the next portion of my hike (Yunomineso is a little ways outside of Yunomine Onsen, probably about a 15 minute walk) downhill. Overall, this was a highlight of my trip on the Kumano Kodo and a great place to stay to recharge while...

I paid about 26,000 yen for one night the 20th March for 2 people half board through booking.com.||||I asked the tourist office at the bus stop across from Hongu Taisha to arrange pickup from Yunomine onsen, intending to catch the bus there.By then it was 4:30pm.The ryokan sent a minivan to the Hongu Taisha bus stop to pick us up! They collected other people there too.When they are busy in the mornings they don't offer this service but they do offer a morning shuttle to Yunomine onsen.We caught a taxi to Hongu Taisha costing about 1600 yen in the morning for our onward bus to Shingu.There is only one taxi in the area so they recommended booking it the night before.It is a very steep, albeit short walk which we did not attempt from the nearest bus stop (Simoyunomine), one stop away from Yunomine onsen. ||||This is a large modern ryokan where you take your shoes off at the door and wear slippers on indoor carpeted floors.There was a kind warm welcome and the service was excellent; outstanding at meals.||||The room was a large very well kept tatami room with a sitting area with 2 western chairs and table overlooking the river, hidden by trees,and misty hills.There was a large cherry tree which wasn't in bloom yet.The room had a full bathroom as well as toilet but we used the showering facilities at the onsen.The two sides of the onsen are switched daily.By the time I went to the onsen it was dark.Unfortunately it was overcast so no stars but I enjoyed the outdoor onsen which was not too hot for me.||||There are stairs to one level of guest rooms and the onsen and dining area and no lift.||||The meals were particularly good, served with care in a large tatami dining room.We elected to have the regular option which included pork shabu shabu.(There are beef and seafood upgrade options, ordered in advance.The hotel will send details on receipt of your booking.) Our dinner was a feast.Each dish was carefully explained, by the server and on a printed menu card which included photographs.This is so thoughtful and I have kept it as a momento of of a special meal.The service at dinner was at the hughest level of Japanese service.The breakfast was also good.||||I had stayed the previous night at Hiri no Sato at Takahara and liked this ryokan so much more. I wish that I had stayed two...

A fantastic place to relax and perfectly situated to explore the Kumano Kodo snd the surrounding Onsen area. |The service at Yunominesou is truly exceptional. Staff are friendly, attentive to every detail and completely committed to guest comfort and needs. Fluent English is spoken and great advice about local transport and sightseeing options is offered every day. The hotel mini-bus is available to take guests to nearby bus stops and, in our case, was gladly used to rescue us when we missed our bus. |The food is fantastic. Generous and endlessly fascinating Japanese meals were an absolute highlight of our stay at Yunominesou. Consistently with the hotel’s dedication to guest service and comfort, wonderfully illustrated instruction sheets were provided with each dinner to describe the multiple courses, and became a souvenir in themselves. |We loved both the private and public onsens at the hotel. Free of charge, indoor and outdoor, and open around the clock, they were great to come home to after long days of hiking.The facilities include an interesting and very reasonably priced gift shop in the foyer, yukatas for every guest, washing machines and dryers, karaoke rooms (so cheaply priced and fun to use while you do your washing), massage chairs, table tennis tables and more. We bought a yukata to bring home (also very reasonably priced). |We will definitely be returning to Yunominesou. It was a highlight of our...